Death Gets A Book

by Frank J. Edler

Vincent and his nagging wife, Wanda wind up getting themselves killed in Tijuana. Vincent wakes to find that he is now the Grim Reaper. With minimal training he is cast into the world of Deaths to collect the souls of the dead. The only wrinkle is his dead wife has come back as a screaming Banshee. She is hellbent on getting her husband to realize that its not 'til death do they part and he is set on getting through his first day on the job.

He will not go it alone. Along the way he is helped by his co-workers: a cowboy, a midget, an action figure and a bumbling grim reaper from Salem.

Will Death get the soul to Charon's skiff by the end of the work day or will a squadron of maniac Banshee's stop Death and upend the balance of power in the underworld? And, will Vincent ever be rid of his nagging wife?

Death gets a book and now you do too!

Genres: Humor, Horror, Death, Fantasy

190 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 10, 2016

About the author

Frank J. Edler is the author of many twisted novels and uncanny short stories often cited as 'laugh out loud' dark comedies. His writing walks the fine line between horror and the bizarre. He resides in New Jersey, a land that is both horrific and bizarre.

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 4 out of 5]

Banshees, Deaths, witches, and Morgan Freeman, oh my! This book was just a lot of fun to go through. The entire premise was an original take on the afterlife, feeling like a unique mash up of The Frighteners and Beetlejuice. It had a great deal of horror concepts included, and was a wild adventure, with loads and loads of humor. The writing was done well and I always love to see when authors have fun with their works like this. It just adds that extra spark to a book that really makes it shine. The short story that was included complimented the main book, and sort of rehashed the same ideas, but still had me laughing and enjoying the experience. Looking forward to more from this talented author!

[Mort · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, if it wasn't for the experience of actually knowing someone like this, I would have thought Vincent and Wanda was purely fiction. However, there are people who actually live and breathe to make the life of their 'significant' other a living hell.

So, what's the worst possible thing that can happen to Vincent?
That's right, to die and not get the '...until death do you part' of the deal.
Then again, Vinny, my friend, is there anything good that can follow the words 'Tijuana Donkey Show?'

So, Vincent is Death...or, at least, a Death.
Wansa is a Banshee (yip, if you were cruel enough to say it out loud, it was a role she was born for, but shame on you for thinking that!).

The worst part about being a Death? It is a bureaucracy...and you don't get decent training...and you are expected to perform from day one...and the consequences of failure is worse than you can imagine...and...
wait a minute! I'm I a Death as well?? Or is this the training I need for one day when I am no longer on the mortal plain???

Ahem - sorry, I got distracted. Double shot of rum fixed my nerves a bit. Where was I?

Okay, just read the damn book - it is really funny and enjoyable.

I bumped this up to five stars because, dealing with Death as a character, I couldn't help but to compare it to the great Sir Terence Pratchett. However, nobody is, was or ever will be as funny as him, and Frank didn't try to copy him, making this story his own.
Very entertaining read!

[Daniel Volpe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audio version of this book through audible. The narrator was awesome, ranging his voice through male, female, accents and even other languages. He was smooth, had great enunciation and brought the characters to life.

Now to the story. I loved it. I've been reading a lot of extreme horror lately and this was the perfect comedic break I needed. Edler created similar, yet distinctive characters throughout the entire book. He was able to inject comedy into the story with character development, 1 liners and situations. I won't post any spoilers, but the ending was great and definitive. If he wanted to, I think this could be serialized into a short series of adventures. Well done, Mr. Frank, well done.

[Arthur Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Tim Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my type of read per se, but I enjoyed this short, bizarre novel about a guy who becomes Death and his weird adventures in the afterlife. I actually found myself laughing out loud a few times. Edler has great comedic writing chops. I recommend this for fans of bizarro or those in search of something funny and offbeat. 3.5 Scythes out of 5.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like the other two books I've read of Edler's, Death Gets a Book is basically a cartoon in book form, which is the reason I enjoy his style of writing. And like the other two, Death Gets a Book also has a poignant center, which is the reason I keep coming back to Edler's books.

[Hail Hydra! ~Dave Anderson~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The two Deaths fell deep into contemplation. If neither of them had called in the Banshee, it could mean big trouble. Banshee’s knew their place and dared not encroach on Grim Reaper territories. If that Banshee showed up and took a job from them, the ramifications could be dire.

[Russell Holbrook · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a fan of The Shocker series as well as the author's podcast, Bizzong!, I was super pumped to read this full-length from Frank Edler.
From concept to execution, I totally enjoyed this book! It brought much needed smiles and laughs into my life! The characters are each likeable and hilarious in their own way, especially Wanda, whose voice I heard in my head as a whining and hysterical version of Lucille LaRusso. The whole vision this paints of the afterlife and Death as a profession with it's highs and lows is just wonderful. The book gets off to a quick start and keeps gaining momentum until it's totally sweet grand finale'. The extra short story that's included is awesome too. If you like a good bit of wacky humor with your Horror, then definitely give this a try. It has an overall positive vibe and is not in the least bit jaded, obtuse, bitter, or ironic in that lame scenester way. Sweet!

[Nick Zinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun tale about a new grim reaper and the trouble that comes with any new job. It's stressful enough, but this one has a bit more than a 401K attached with another group competing for souls. Not all books start off with a donkey show, which is worth the price of admission. Plus the bonus short story of death on a holiday is almost better than the novel.

[Lucille Bransfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun little book. Certain things kept me laughing out loud. “Trademark” and trying to keep track of death. Cowboy might have been my favorite. I listened to the audio, but this is worth the “read”.

[Theo Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

A joyful absurdist romp through the consequences of death personified being the preserve of a rigid bureaucracy. Clever silliness delivered with just the right amount of running jokes.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW

I love this book it really has given me such a great laugh this morning so thank you for that. I don’t think I can even explain it if I’m
Honest without ruining it but let’s just say death is not just a hooded figure wandering around and there is a lot more going on there but you need to listen to know more

[Michael Shotter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read much bizarro or absurdist fiction, so I'm far from an expert on the subject. That said, "Death Gets a Book" for the most part struck me as pretty much exactly what I imagined it would be, which I'd say makes it a success and a good representation of the genre.

As one might expect, there are recognizable elements at play here, such as a clearly-defined premise, cast of characters, and "rules" to the way things operate that act as a sort of foundational guide, which prevents the more ludicrous aspects of the story from launching it completely off the rails. It's hard to talk specifically about those more "out there" portions of the book without venturing into spoiler territory but rest assured that they are sufficiently quirky and abundant that they should more than satisfy anyone seeking them.

What some readers may not anticipate, and may not care for, are the frequently crass and potentially-provocative moments throughout the text that seem clearly designed to offend the easily offended. Not being easily offended, I found myself simply shrugging these off beyond noting them but for this purpose, I'd say they're worth mentioning as a sort of content warning for those who don't enjoy having their buttons pushed or their feathers ruffled. Additionally, if you're not a fan of prose that's at times a bit rough around the edges, or the sorts of crude, brash, and boorish humor that was common in films and other media of the 70's and 80's such as "Caddyshack" or "Used Cars," you likely won't make it past the first chapter.

All that being said, I ultimately enjoyed "Death Gets a Book" as an interesting and worthwhile diversion from the sorts of things I typically read and give it a thumbs up for the things I feel it did well.

A final note regarding my score: For me, this was a 3.25 but I'm rounding up to a 4 as I don't feel it would be fair to the book or the author to underrate it with a 3.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Death Gets a Book by Frank Edler is bizarre, no doubt. Any story that starts with a Tijuana Donkey Show is bound to go the direction of bizzaro. Then we move on from the donkey show, to learning what life is for Death. Not only are we fallowing the story of Death but a particularly poor one at that. What ensues is hilarious adventure with Death as he learns the ropes of his trade.

Death Gets a Book by Frank Edler
I’m relatively new to the bizzaro fiction world but I’ve become a huge fan. I think what separates Bizzaro from other fiction is that there is zero attempt to suspend anyone’s disbelief. Bizzaro often mashes several genres together with some level of absurdity, sexuality or violence (maybe all three). I don’t pretend to be an expert on Bizzaro, but this is how I would define it. Death Gets a Book is probably more on the absurdity side but has elements of the violence and sex.

I think the strength in the book is that humorous. Surprisingly, give it starts with a donkey show, the book isn’t all that raunchy which is a plus or minus depending on your preference. So, most of the humor is just all the horrible stuff that happens to Death and how terrible he is at being a Death. By the end of the book you are cheering for Death!

Death has a boss, Death’s job sucks too, and Death has relationship problems. Edler won me over with Deaths driving around in a Gravedigger monster truck and Death having to sit on the crapper to think as well.

Conclusion
It’s really hard to judge a book like this based on the same things as regular old horror. It’s supposed to be absurd. It’s supposed to be goofy. It’s not supposed to make you believe anything. So, when I read a bizzaro novel I tend to just think about the feeling I get when reading it. I had a smile on my face the whole time and laughed some as well. In my book, that’s a good read.

[DA · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a hoot!

This is a prime example of horror comedy! Although it's more comedy than horror. At first I was a bit confused with all the Deaths, but the author did a great job making sure they had their own quirky personalities and funny names. One of my favorite scenes was when the Deaths and Banshees were battling it out at a Monster Truck rally.
If you want a feel good horror (is that a thing??) then you'll want to give this book a read.

[John Baltisberger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Edler's book starts with a Tijuana donkey show, and ends with a cough drop. In between is a ton of bizarre action, some romance, and a lot of legally questionable corporate ethics. I really enjoyed this book. I think Edler's has a real flare for comedic timing that makes every moment of Death Gets a Book a joy to consume.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, touching, and a really original take on Death!

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Death Gets A Book” is a funny book that takes an interesting turn. It's a book about death and the afterlife, but it's also about love, marriage and other relationships. I loved the twist of Vincent being a Grim Reaper, as well as how he must deal with this new role as Death.

The narrator is hilarious, and the story was well-paced, and it made me laugh out loud at times. I can't wait to read more from this author!

The story follows Vincent and his wife Wanda as they try to make it through their marriage. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) for them, they wind up getting themselves killed in Tijuana. Vincent wakes up to find that he is now a Grim Reaper and has been given the task of collecting souls on Earth, oh and his wife she is now a Banshee.

[Joseph VanBuren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Gets A Review

You know how when you get a new job, sometimes they just throw you in the fire with no training and let you suck at it until you figure it out? Well, this book answers the question: what about if that job was being death? I wasn't sure what to expect from reading this, but I enjoyed it. Genuinely funny, vulgar and gross but also whimsical and a solid story. It's kind of like a cross between a Tim Burton movie and a South Park episode. Good stuff.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark comedy at its finest. So funny and so wrong.

[Ziggy Nixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's kind of like Santa Claus, he's really got millions of helpers all over the world. And so it is with Deaths. There are thousands of them, all working their routes all over the world.

Irreverent. Funny. Total wackadoodle. Silly. Silly again just for good measure. Pythonesque (which the author even nods to on occasion). These are just some of the first thoughts that come to mind - where thoughts do tend to congregate - about Frank Edler's "Death Gets A Book", um, book. A quick but highly amusing read, Edler takes us on a tour of the death business - and yes, it is a business as we even meet a Death accountant, namely, The Grim Bean Counter along the way. No, if you've arrived looking for a treatise on Ingmar Bergman's "The Seventh Seal", then you're in the wrong place. Try back at the pub. You'll know you're in the right place if you hear a bunch of frat boys screaming about whoever took their midget away.

Anything that made Vincent content made Wanda irate. Husbands should live to please their wives not themselves.

Our story starts out following Vincent and his total hag/nag of a wife Wanda as they make their way through the seedy back streets of Tijuana. You can tell almost from the first paragraph that these two are in every way imaginable utterly and totally doomed. It also doesn't help that it appears they are the only two people in any hemisphere not to know what a Donkey show entails, so again, bets are off that these two somehow survive. I mean, once Juan throws off his robe to reveal his leather bikini bottoms and leather pasties with leather tassels, you know to back away from la pareja condenada! Oh, that's Mexican, um, I mean, Spanish for "the doomed couple".

I don’t know a thing about Deathing! And I have no idea why you have pelvis envy!

I'll not spoil the splattery goodness that follows, but needless to say, their separate trips to the hereafter are full of all kinds of fun. Vincent - who is henceforth known as Vincent Death (clever, that!) at least finds himself now a member of what can only be called the Death squad (oops, they're actually The League of Deaths, my bad!), though not in the sense of keeping our jungles and other locales safe for the drug trade. No, it seems there isn't just one Death and soon we get to know among others the helpful and always boisterous Cowboy Death (no doubt intended to be played by Sam Elliott in the movie version), Midget Death (is it typecasting if we go with Peter Dinklage?), Salem Death (hm, who would look good being constantly taunted and teased by witches?) and even La Petite Mort, who despite references to the contrary, is not just the embodiement of orgasms nor here to promote a new line of monster truck-driving G.I.Joes. Trust me on that former bit… or ruin your own search history, your call.

You are Death! You can’t shit anymore! What good is thinking on the shitter going to do you?

The various Deaths have their skeletal hands full so to speak because it seems that even in death (small d), misogyny rules. Yes, the Deaths are all Dudes with big D's (ahem)… which means that dead women if so chosen become Banshees. That's right: the screaming-meemies of Irish lore are in fact the (im)mortal enemies of the Deaths and a war is brewing. And guess who is the nastiest new Banshee on the block? That's right: Wanda returns in all her glory to try and ruin anything and everything Vincent sets out to accomplish if for no other reason than, well, she's Wanda. Seems then that if Vincent can NOT get things fixed, he will be banished to the eastern block of Limbo, where all the "bad" deaths go to be punished. And by punished, that means his soul will be erased. It's kind of a weird thing to imagine, especially with all the giant-headed Babies mucking about. Did I mention this a weird book? Yeah.

It was his very first job and she fucked it all up. Even in death, she was ruining his life.

Needless to say, things seem to get way out of control but thanks to some targeted killing by Vincent Death (can Death do that?) and a convenient cough drop, our heroes (???) save the day. And Charon, too. Heck, even love prevails and Vincent can, um, live out the rest of his days with the girl of his dreams (the whole falling in love and wooing bit takes about 2 minutes). Edler also provides a wee short story (is that redundant?) at the end that is also equally insane that along with the ending of the novellette gets a wee bit uncomfortable as he actually includes real people that we'd rather not see die just yet. Just an opinion there.

Death felt tears of joy well up inside his empty body. He had killed the woman he loved.

So if I were you and not just Death Reviewer (no, that doesn't work, nevermind), I'd go into your reading of this fun-sized snack of a story without either your thinking caps on nor your serious expressions either. It is surely meant to be fun and light-hearted (or light-headed, not sure) and for me, it was a fun distraction on an otherwise "nothing good on TV" Friday night. Yes, I eventually regretted not having a few drinks BEFORE I started but I'm not sure my brain could have handled the additional jostling about. And yeah, the editing (oh gods, is he going to be serious again?) isn't all what it should be, which gets a bit distracting - including the ultimate sin: a mistake between "your" and "you're"! - but hey, sometimes you just got to go with the flow. So if you'll excuse me, I'm going to put on my Tattered Black Robe™ and try to sneak in a beer or three before my wife gets home from shopping. I'll probably hear her shrieking before she gets here anyway…

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Further Adventures of Death!

Read my full take here: Death Gets A Book

[Amanda Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this one about a year ago. I don’t remember much of it, but I remember laughing at the book’s human, enjoying the premise, and reading the whole thing in one sitting.

Edler’s books are charming and full of humor. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting him several times on the convention circuits and he’s a nice guy. I tried this book thinking it wouldn’t be my speed but was pleasantly surprised to find out, not only did I love it, but it was a fast read too.

I’ve recommended this book to several of my friends for the conscience but great writing style.

[Christina Pfeiffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review to follow.

[Norman Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

A love story for the ages - Vincent and Wanda. He's a Death, she's a banshee. How do they co-exist?

[Mackenzie Prade · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dnf @37%

[Siobhan Falen · Rating 4 out of 5]

When a couple, whose toxic marriage is destroying them more each day, meet their untimely death at a Tijuana Donkey Show (yes, completely that kind of show), they find out that there are things after death they forgot to share with humanity. Vincent becomes a Death and Wanda becomes a Banshee. They accidentally set of a war that's been brewing while Vincent tries to start a new life for himself and Wanda just stalks him with the anger of a very bitter person.

Anyway, when I snagged this, I had no clue what I was walking into. Totally went in blind and enjoyed it quite a bit. It's a dark comedy/romance and felt familiar in many different ways. Want to take poor Vincent and tell him not everyone is like Wanda, and you want thump Wanda on the nose, tell her to behave. Or I guess have a donkey give her a solid send-off to the next life.

This cracked me up and I'm not sure where I picked it up from, but I'm glad I did. It's worth at least a read if not a couple.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining Premise but Oh the Typos!

Loved the cute and silly adventures with death. Only criticism I have is there were a lot of typos regarding pronouns of the characters which always takes me out of a book in enjoying.